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I was given two hands – to extend both to each and every –
Can’t hold either one back, lips – to give names,
Eyes – not to see, those high eyebrows above them –
To fondly marvel at love and – and more fondly – non-love.

And this church bell, heavier than those at the Kremlin,
That’s endlessly tolling within the chest, -
What is it for? – who knows? – may be – it must be -
To avoid overstaying on the vast Russian land.

July 2, 1916By Marina TsvetaevaTranslation by Andrey Kneller[1]“ou
won’t leave me...”, “You overshadow the sun in the sky...”, “I was given two
hands...”: These poems were part of a
13-poem cycle dedicated to the poet A.A. Akhmatova (1889 -1966).